Horrible Confessions from Teenage Zombies
by Poehlaris
Summary: This is the story of multiple confessions and how they were all terrible. Like, really terrible, but also kind of cool.


I'm going to tell you a story from the perspective of an outsider. Now this is going to get confusing, so bear with me. See, I am most definitely an outsider, but I also have the unfortunate privilege of being part of the inner circle. You see, I'm part of a team, and there are three of us. We work together like a well-oiled machine when we're working, but everything outside of that is kind of sloppy. Let's start from the sort-of beginning.

So, the three of us came together under A-Loan and began working as bounty hunters, the only problem being that we had no idea what the hell we were doing. It was kind of like 'hey, here's some cool weapons, go kill the bad guys and make some money.' That didn't really help us. It didn't matter, of course, because we were purposefully brought together. See, our boss has a rivalry type of thing going on with our competitors over at Z-Loan. He thought he could do better, so he did. So, let's go through some introductions:

Our main adversary is this fragile-looking pinkette named Kita Michiru. She was blessed with Shinigami eyes, so all she has to do is take off her glasses and she can spot the black rings of death around people's necks. Pretty solid, if you ask me. Her problem is that she's kind of otherwise useless. She's not very coordinated, she scares easily, and she can't fight to save her life. So, in comes Boy A and Boy B. At least, that's what they're called at school, or so I've been told. Akatsuki Chika and Tachibana Shito were both involved in some freak bus accident and killed. So, when the Ferryman offered them a 'loan of life,' they became what is known as 'legal' zombies. They fucked up somewhere and now they each have a hand not belonging to them. Akatsuki brandishes a sword, while Tachibana has a hand gun.

So, these horribly mismatched clowns all came together under Z-Loan to form a team hellbent on earning enough money to pay off their loans and become human again. Well, 'alive' is a more accurate way of saying things. I guess zombies are technically still human beings, after all. Just a little dead. Kita finds illegal zombies with her Shinigami eyes and then Akatsuki and Tachibana defeat them, lay their souls to rest, and earn some money. It's that simple.

So, then we come in, the new kids on the block, only we're smarter and better equipped. Our Kita is a woman named Toma Toko. Superior to Kita, Toma can easily sense the nearby presence of a zombie and lead us directly to it. Then there's Inubashiri Zen, our version of Akatsuki. They're both pretty hotheaded and fiery, but while Akatsuki wields an old-fashioned katana, Zen bears two finely sharpened scimitars. His ability to control two weapons simultaneously gives him the ability to attack and guard at the same time while also giving him more opportunities to strike.

Then there's me. My name is Tsugumi Shuuji. Naturally, I'm comparable to Tachibana. Our teams are perfectly mirrored, after all. Tachibana's little hand gun is no match for my assault rifle. I have more firepower, I can fire shots more rapidly, and I can cause three times more damage than he can. His skills are sub-par.

So, now that you've got a feel for everyone, I can assure you that all the information I have given you was completely unnecessary. I mean, I gotta give you some backstory and a little character information before I go delving into the real story here, right? Otherwise, how can you pull anything from what I'm about to tell you? You won't be able to decide how to properly feel… probably.

So, anyway, I was talking about being an inside-outsider. Yeah, well, basically, we're all pretty good friends. We're on friendly terms and we get along just fine. Us A-Loan kids, I mean, not those Z-Loan has-beens. No one really gives a crap about them, anyway. Well, I guess that's not entirely accurate. Ugh, let's just make this easy to understand with this simple breakdown:

Inubashiri has a thing for Kita, but Kita is totally oblivious and probably has a major crush on one of her comrades or some shit like that. But, see, Toma has a thing for Inubashiri. She's liked him for as long as we've been together. So, the fact that Inubashiri is all infatuated with Kita makes Toma totally jealous. And then I like Toma, but since that's going nowhere fast, I've just sort of resigned to overseeing this train wreck.

So, there's the basics of it. And before you say anything, don't get the wrong idea – I'm not looking for pity or sympathy. There's a part of me that will always like Toma, but I can let her go fairly easily. I mean, as long as she's happy, right?

Now, the trouble with these unreciprocated feelings is that it makes things complicated. When something happens to Kita, Inubashiri has a silent panic attack, and when Toma notices, she gets mad. Then when something happens to Inubashiri for trying to help Kita, Toma freaks out because, oh, no, her precious baby Zen. Everything falls apart and then I have to form an allegiance with that freak Betty-loving guy, Tachibana. Being rational and level-headed can be a real pain-in-the-ass.

So, I got to thinking one night that it's about time all this ends. Despite our superiority, our rivalry with Z-Loan is going to end in failure. Don't ask me how I know that, because it's not important. Just focus on the real story.

I tried having a man-to-man talk with Inubashiri. I don't like beating around the bush, so I flat out asked him how he felt about Kita. His face turned scarlet and there was a mixture of murder and utter horror in his eyes. I got all the typical 'what the hell kind of question is that?' and 'how could you even ask me something like that?,' but I just let it run its course. When he was finally done freaking out, I asked him again, but this time he went silent.

"I don't know… I guess I might like her."

That's what he told me.

Then I asked him how he felt about Toma, but this time he just looked at me like I was stupid.

"Why would you ask such a weird question? She's my teammate and friend."

It wasn't hard to piece together that if he had any feelings for her at all, they were far overshadowed by his 'possible' feelings for Kita. It was pretty obvious that he'd never even considered our pink-haired beauty. So, I stopped prying into his feelings and went straight for the gold.

"Why haven't you told Kita how you feel?"

I swore that I would never hear the end of it. The excuses flowed from his mouth like a waterfall and I could tell that the mere idea of anything remotely like a confession would likely cause a heart attack and a brain aneurism at the same time. Dude just wasn't ready for something like that. So, I decided to be a total punk and tell him that if he didn't tell Kita before we were disbanded, that I would. Then I coolly walked away while he died a little inside.

I did the same thing with Toma. But instead of asking questions, I merely stated facts. I was all like, "You like Inubashiri," and she went all red in the face like he did, but she didn't deny it. I kind of thought she would, but she just kind of turned away from me all embarrassed-like. Cute.

"That obvious, huh?"

"To everyone but him," I said. She looked kind of relieved and kind of broken up about that. She wanted her feelings to reach him without having to put in the effort to properly communicate with him and it was so not going to happen that way. So, I told her that she should just tell him. I was waiting for all of her excuses and how she would be way too embarrassed, but… they never came. Instead, she just plastered on the saddest smile I'd ever seen and said, "There's not much point now is there? He's got his heart set on Kita, and even if he didn't, I have the sinking suspicion that he doesn't see me as anything other than a teammate."

I knew that what she was saying was true, but it was even more heartbreaking to hear directly. She knew everything, of course she did, because she wasn't a fucking moron. The sucky part of it all was that you couldn't even be mad at Inubashiri. He wasn't doing anything on purpose, he wasn't leading her on, he doesn't even really know what his own true feelings are, let alone hers.

Thankfully Toma didn't look like she was about to cry, so I decided to comfort her the best way I knew how. I wrapped an arm around her and smiled my most tenderest of smiles. She smiled back at me, which was good, because it made what I said next a whole lot easier to say.

"I like you."

Her entire expression shifted to that of surprise, but I smiled anyway and released my grip on her. As I stood to leave her be, she started sputtering this and that. I could tell she was trying to respond to my confession, but I just didn't want to hear it. I looked her in the eyes as I told her that everything was alright, that I didn't expect anything, but that I just wanted to prove that even when you know that the feeling isn't mutual, it's so much easier to tell the truth and move forward than live with such complicated and hurtful feelings. It hurts to feel something so intensely without ever really knowing how someone else feels, too. I think we all hold the tiniest sliver of hope that our feelings will be returned and that's why it's so hard to do anything. I was hoping that would be enough to encourage her. And then when she most likely will be rejected, maybe it will inspire Inubashiri.

My hope was just to get everything out in the open. To breathe in some fresh air and to start thinking about what to do next. I mean, we don't have much time, right? So, we have to do what we can right now.

Wanna know how it ended up? Well, before anyone could do anything, Inubashiri had his poor little heart broken. Akatsuki had picked up on his crush and decided to thoroughly shatter his hopes and dreams. I don't really know how, because I wasn't there when it happened, but I heard Tachibana got in on it, too. They made it clear that if Kita was going to be with anyone, it most certainly wouldn't be the enemy. Then I guess she showed up and they forbade her from dating anyone ever for the rest of her life. Like they could do that or something.

So, after that whole ordeal, Toma just sort of waltzed in and was like, 'I know your whole life is over and everything, and this is probably a bad time, but I really like you.' Then she pulled my same stunt and walked away like she was all that (she was – is). Inubashiri didn't even get the chance to respond, he was so awestruck. It was pretty fantastic, if you ask me.

That's basically how this story ends. What, you wanted closure or something? A happy ending? A real ending of any kind? Sorry, but real life doesn't really work that way. After all, this isn't really the end. We're still here, after all. My gut says Inubashiri might come around to Toma one day, but I don't think it'll be anytime soon. They need to grow as people and go around the block a few more times to figure these kinds of things out. As for me? Well, what about me? This story wasn't about me at all. I was just outsider on the inside, after all.


End file.
